Alleged drunk driver charged with multiple felonies

On behalf of Marianne Bertuna of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins posted in Drunk Driving on Tuesday April 10, 2018.

A New York man was charged with driving while intoxicated after his car rolled over in the town of LaGrange on March 25. The 52-year-old man, who is from Fishkill, was charged with felony DWI in addition to other felony and misdemeanor charges.

The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office says that the man was driving a 2003 Honda with an 8-year-old passenger in the car when he drove off the road near the intersection of New Hackensack Road and Walker Road. The car hit an embankment and then rolled over. Neither the driver nor the passenger was injured.

The driver was charged with DWI, aggravated DWI and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operations. His driver’s license had been revoked for a previous DWI conviction, which happened within the previous 10 years. Because of that, as well as alleged drunk driving with a passenger under the age of 16, all of these charges were felonies. He was also charged with operating a vehicle without a court-ordered interlock device and a traffic infraction, both misdemeanors. His court date was set for March 27 at 4 p.m.

Whether a DWI charge is a misdemeanor or a felony, there are certain cases in which people could have a conviction expunged from their record. New York does not allow for expungement, which would mean erasing a conviction from the record. However, in New York records can be sealed. A sealed record cannot be viewed by prospective employers or others who check someone’s criminal background. Types of records that might be able to be sealed include juvenile offenses, non-criminal offenses or cases that did not lead to conviction. But in some cases a misdemeanor or felony conviction could be sealed.